


The River Rose

by steviewho



Series: Immortal Rose [5]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-28 00:43:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20417063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steviewho/pseuds/steviewho
Summary: Like Mickey said, it's every man's worst nightmare. The Ex and the Mrs.Rose answers a distress beacon and meets River.This is my immortal Rose and a River right before the Husbands of River Song





	The River Rose

Rose dropped Jack at home. He had some things he needed to deal with at Torchwood that he couldn’t ignore anymore. So she was back to traveling alone for a while, or so she thought before something strange happened.

The distress beacon was blaring and it was an alarming shade of mauve. That wasn’t so strange, she often came upon distress beacons, what was strange was the instructions in Gallifrian that were coming through. Her husband taught her how to speak a bit, not much as it was such a melodic and complicated language, but enough to get by. It made him happy to hear his old language again. She knew enough to know the coordinates given and the instruction to open the TARDIS Door. Maybe this was him, maybe she finally found him! 

She landed the TARDIS gently, fighting the urge to run down the bridge and fling the doors open. She took a deep breath, readying herself. It had to be him, who else would ask specifically for a TARDIS? She heard the door open and steadied herself. 

“Perfect timing Sweetie, but we need to take off quick!” a woman’s voice filled the control room. Rose heard her boots run up the bridge. Rose leaned over the controls and put it in orbit, catching sight big red curls. She kept her face hidden for a moment, she heard the woman sit in her jumpseat with a dramatic sigh. “You redecorated again! I love it!” the woman announced. 

Rose poked her head around the consel finally to see the woman. They caught each other’s eyes finally and the woman’s smile dropped. 

“Its you!” she said barely above a whisper. 

“Is it you? Did you regenerate?” Rose came around and stood in front of the woman, whose big green eyes were wide. 

“What? No. No I am not the Doctor.” she shook her curls. 

“Then how do you know who I am? Are you traveling with him?” 

“In a way. Sometimes. But I do know you Rose Tyler.” she took Rose’s hands and squeezed. She still looked generally surprised to see her. 

“You have me at a disadvantage. You know time traveling and all. Have we met?” 

“No. But I know all about you.” 

“From him?” Rose got excited. This is as close as she has ever gotten to finding a Doctor in the right timeline.

“Yes. How are you here?” 

“How much do you know?” 

“I know everything. I know all about Bad Wolf Bay and how it broke him.”

“Which Bad Wolf Bay?” she needed to be careful, this could be a companion from between times. 

“Both. I don’t understand. He closed the worlds himself.” the woman was still holding Rose’s hand, like if she let go Rose would disappear. 

“It’s been a long time since then, I got through accidentally one day. I’m sorry, I still don’t know who you are.” Rose pulled her hand away. 

“This is your TARDIS? That means she’s the daughter of his TARDIS. Hello sister!” she practically purred as she ran a hand across Rose’s console. Rose quirked an eyebrow at her. 

“Alright then. I’m not asking again. Who the hell are you? Stop petting my TARDIS!” Rose raised her voice, her old London accent came back for a moment and surprised her. The woman turned and gave her a big smile. 

“You are just as firey as he said you were. I love it. I am River Song, nice to meet you.” she put her hand to shake. “I’m just going to put us on park here in Orbit so we can have a little girl talk.”

“Pleasure. You can drive the TARDIS?” she was starting to worry exactly who this woman was to the Doctor. That old jealousy flaring up. 

“I can. Care for some tea dear? I could really go for a cup. Toppling the patriarchy gets me so thirsty.” she pulled a small statue out of her pocket and tossed it to Rose. 

“Did you knick this?” Rose couldn’t help the smile spreading across her face. 

“Legend was this is their God, he is male and so the men are better than women. I freed the enslaved women, stole their God and made a run for it. Tea?” River began walking towards the galley. Obviously not needing directions, the TARDIS seemed to be communicating with her. River sat at the Table while Rose made the tea. 

“So. How do you know so much about me? Did he talk about me?” Rose finally asked, the silence unbearable. River seemed comfortable though. She sat back and watched Rose with a smile on her face. 

“Most of what I know is from my training and research. I’m an archeologist you see. But yes, he did talk about you from time to time. Not often, he doesn’t like endings so he pretends like it didn’t happen. But there are times a look passes over his face, or those green eyes get big and sad and he would open up a bit.” 

“Green? So he has regenerated then?” Rose couldn’t help but be a little disappointed, she knew there was a slight chance she would find the one with her husband’s face but she hoped. Maybe it would make things easier. She handed River her cup of steaming tea.

“Spoilers dear.” River smiled over her cup before sipping. Rose sat down, she didn’t drink her tea though, she just stared into it. Looking for answers in her cup. 

“River Song. That name sounds so familiar. You’re sure we have never met?”

“As of yet, I have not met you. Maybe you have met me? That’s how it goes with the Doctor and me.” 

“How do you mean?” 

“As you know, time travel is tricky, you don’t always meet in the correct order. The Doctor and I are meeting all in the wrong order. The first time he meets me will be the last time I meet him. That’s why I keep this.” she pulled a worn out blue book from her pocket and waved it at Rose before cramming it her pocket. “It’s my diary. Keeps everything in order for me. And no you cannot look at it, it could show you something from his future. ”

“How did you get involved with him?” 

“Oh, I was born to it. My parents travelled with him for many years. I’m a child of the TARDIS.” she sipped her tea again. Rose could tell it was more for dramatic effect then to quench her thirst. 

“That explains the sister comment. So you grew up in the TARDIS that must have been amazing. My husband and I were afraid it would be too dangerous to raise a child in our TARDIS, we couldn’t seem to stay out of trouble.” 

“I was not raised by my parents. I was kidnapped and trained to kill the Doctor.” she smiled again when she saw Rose bristle. 

“And?” 

“And what darling?” 

“What did you do? He’s still alive obviously.” 

“I married him instead.” Rose recognized the challenge presented in the way she said that. And then it hit her, how she knew the name River Song. She remembered her husband telling her all about the library and the woman who knew his name. Rose stood up and went to her cupboard, pulled out two wine glasses. 

“Red or white?” she asked River, she needed a moment to compose herself. 

“What?” 

“We need something stronger than tea for this conversation. Red or white?” 

“White.” River pushed her tea to the middle of the table and watched Rose. 

Rose handed a glass to River and lifted it into a toast. 

“To every man’s nightmare… The ex and the Mrs.” Rose said clinking her glass against River’s, who threw her head back in laughter. 

“Oh, I like you!” River took a long sip of her wine. “You’re not bothered?” 

“No, I got married too. I had hoped he would find someone. He doesn’t do well on his own. Just shocked a little is all. You must be something special, I couldn’t even get him to tell me he loved me. He kept going on about the ‘curse of the timelords’ and not wanting to watch his loved ones wither and die.” 

“Darling, it is not like that. Not like that at all. We got married to save the universe is all. He doesn’t love me back.” 

“But you love him?”

“Of course. How could I not?” 

“Some things are worth getting your heart broken for…” Rose whispered, staring off at nothing. 

“Are you okay?” River touched her arm and pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Yes, sorry. Just something an old friend told me once about traveling with him. I’m sure he does care about you River. I was married to a version of him for a very long time, I know he does love and he loves hard. He just doesn’t share it because he thinks it will hurt less when he loses people. Can I give you a lift somewhere?” 

“That would be wonderful. How did you get back? I’m dying to know.” River and Rose stood from the table and made their way back to the console room. Rose told her the story of coming back and trying to find him. 

“So which of him have you met?” Rose eyed the journal poking out of River’s pocket.

“Oh, nearly all of them. Not the one with the ears and the leather, nor the one your husband was made from. How about you?” 

Rose tried to hide the cringe when she mentioned him. She knew that when she met him that would be the end of her life. She was secretly pleased River never met her first Doctor though, she had something of him that was just her own. 

“Just a couple past ones while trying to track down the current incarnation. Did you ever meet the one with the scarf? I haven’t been able to actually talk to him. I can’t cross the timeline of one of his companions.” 

“Yes! He was a good time! How about the mouthy one in the colorful coat? It made me long for the fez!” 

“What an ass he was! I think the old age softened him up a bit. When I met him, he was a lot less…” 

“Pompous?” 

“Yes that was the word! Most of the time anyway!” they laughed together for a moment before the signal went off they were arriving. River took the reigns and landed the TARDIS perfectly, no crashing to the floor. 

“You handle her beautifully. I would have thought learning from the Doctor you would have landed it like him. Took me a long time to unlearn everything he taught me.” Rose ran a hand along her console. 

“He didn’t teach me, I learned from her. It was truly wonderful to finally meet you Rose Tyler.” 

“It was wonderful to meet you too River Song.” Rose gathered River into a hug, River was stiff for a moment before relaxing a bit and patting her on the back. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay on a bit longer? I have loads of room.” Rose offered before letting go. Now that she spent so much time with Jack she found she was getting lonely. 

“I can’t darling. But thank you. I’m on a tight schedule with a meteor shower.” River explained. 

“Well, if you ever need a rescue ring me up.” She smiled as she opened the door for River. 

“I will. I think you are getting close to finding him soon. Don’t give up. Maybe he will pop in on you one day.” River patted her arm and walked out. 

“And River?” Rose grabbed her hand, River turned to look at her. “He might not say it, but he will show you how much he loves you one day. I’m sure of it.” she remembered the story of him taking her to see the singing towers. 

“Thank you Rose.” River gave her a tight smile and walked off. Rose stood in the doorway and watched River talk to a small bald man in glasses before stomping off. 

“I hope we are both right River. I truly do.” Rose sighed and went back in before she got too cold from the snowfall.


End file.
